Robot Takes Care of Parts Sorting Automatically

After observing a colleague sorting a box of screws and other assorted hardware, AdrienR decided not to help him with that job alone, but…

Jeremy Cook
5 years agoRobotics

After observing a colleague sorting a box of screws and other assorted hardware, Adrien Ouilou decided not to help him with that job alone, but instead “simply” built a robot to do it for them. This device first takes a picture of a translucent backlit surface with parts scattered about its area, then uses a SCARA-style robot to move about the area, picking each one up with a magnet. It then deposits these parts into the correct bin.

The robotic arm used here was constructed just for this project, with joints actuated by servo motors that actuate belt drives on the “shoulder” and “elbow.” Another servo is also implemented for vertical movement. The setu[ uses a 5V Pro Trinket to move the robot-control servos, along with the electromagnet that was also constructed for the job. The Pro Trinket is responsible for trajectory planning, however, a computer system running OpenCV calculates where the robot will move based on visual inspection.

While still a work-in-progress, the video below shows very impressive results, recognizing and placing a variety of different parts. As of now, it uses blob detection — recognition based on the number of pixels in a given area — for part identification. Eventually Ouilou hopes to increase accuracy with more advanced detection methods, but you can check out his code if you’d like to see how he’s currently pulling this feat off.

One might argue that Ouilou spent way more time on this build than he ever would have sorting parts. On the other hand, it allowed him to have fun experimenting with machine vision, robotic arms, and electromechanical actuators to accomplish a perhaps-useful task — pretty much the heart of recreational hacking. Of course, I would never do such an inefficient build, unless, you count this promotional button dispenser for Maker Faires and trade shows — when people could simply pick one up off the table!

Jeremy Cook
Engineer, maker of random contraptions, love learning about tech. Write for various publications, including Hackster!
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